Improvement in blast-furnaces for smelting iron and other ores



S. W. HARRIS. Blast-Furnaces for Snielting Iron and Other 'Dres.

N0. 42,464. Patented September 2,1873

SAMUEL W, HARRIS, OF ALBANY, ASSIGNOR TO BENJAMIN BAY, OF HUDSON, ANDIRA JAGQEB AND THEODORE F. MINER, OF ALBANY, NEW YORK.

IMPROVEMENT IN BLAST-FURNACESFOR SMELTING IRON AND OTHER ORES'.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 142,464, datedSeptember 2, 1873; application filed July 24, 1873. Y

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SAMUEL WASHING- TON HARRIS, of the city of Albany,in the county of Albany and State of New York, have invented anImprovement in the Tops of Furnaces for the Smelting of Iron and otherOres, of which the following is a specification:

This invention more particularly relates to blast-furnaces in which ahotblast is used, as in the reissue No. 5,397, dated May 6,1878, oforiginal Letters Patent No. 123,894, dated February 20,1872, granted meconjointly with others. The invention has for one of its objects theeconomy of the gases evolved in the smelting process, and their conductin a cold dead state, by proper channels,lto any desired place or placeswhere they are to be used for heating the pipe ovens or steamboilers, orfor illuminating and other purposes. The other general objects are,economy of fuel, increased production, and an improved quality of themetal, and the regulation of its quality, and increased durability ofthe upper part of the furnace. To these ends, I use a cover applied tothe head of the furnace above an'opening or openings provided for theexit of the gases to the place or places where they are to be utilized,and provide said cover with one or more charging-apertures, and swinginglids or doors for closing the same; and, furthermore, provide said coverwith an opening for the escape of surplus gas, and a damper to regulatesuch escape. This improvement consists in a novel construction of thecover on the head of the furnace, and of the swinging doors or lids forclosing the same automatically, whereby increased facility is affordedfor charging, the swinging lids or doors are effectually closed, and anupward escape away from the face of the laborer engaged in entering thecharge is provided for the gases through the charging opening oropenings in the cover. a

Figure l is a side view of the upper part of an ordinary blast furnacewith my improvement applied; and Fig. 2, a central vertical section ofthe improved cover with its attached doors.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts. i

A represents the upper part of the body of the furnace, having one ormore openings, 1),

for the exit of the gases to be utilized; and

B B is the cover on the head of the furnace above the openings 1). IThis cover, which is of polygonal shape in its transverse section, iscomposed of amain-body portion, B, mounted on the tree-nail plate 0, andof an upper portion, B, the lower or main body portion being constructedto slightly incline inward in an upwardly direction, and the upperportion B contracting more rapidly in the same direction, and beingprovided with a top opening and valve or damper d for the escape of anysurplus gas. 0 O are vertically-swin gin g doors, arranged to closecharging-openings D D in the sides of the cover. These doors are hung,by horizontal pivots or trunnions e e, intermediately of their length orheight, within bearings f f at or near the junction of the top part B ofthe cover with the lower portion B thereof; and said doors are soshaped, constructed, and arranged that the lower halves or portions 0 ofthe doors close against the outside thereof and the inwardly-slopingconstruction of the tops of the doors away from the trunnions ee givesan overhanging weight in favor of the closing of the doors, even thoughthe lower portion of the cover, against which the doors shut from theinside, inclines inwardly in an upward direction, or is out of verticalposition, which greatly favors the charging of the furnace. Weights g 9may also be added to the upper portions of the doors to insure theautomatic closing of the latter 5 and chains h h be appended to restrainthe opening of the doors beyond a given limit. But the main advantage ofthe openings D in the upper portion B of the cover, closed from theoutside by the upper halves or portions 0 of the doors, isthat, whencharging the furnace with fuel, ore, or flux by barrow pushed againstthe lower half of either swinging door, an outlet is provided above forescaping gases away from the face of the laborer engaged in entering thecharge, and the upper portions of the doors act as shields to protecthim therefrom.

cured by Letters Patent, is-- The combination, with the coverB B of thevertically-swinging doors (J 0, arranged to rock on intermediate pivotsor centers 6 e, and

What is here claimed, and desired to be se-- to open outwardly andinwardly in relation with the openings D D against closing-weightapplied to the upper portions of the doors, substantially as and for thepurposes herein set forth.

SAM. W. HARRIS.

Witnesses:

JNo. TEMPLETON, D. S. MANN.

